Europe Narrowly Avoids Power Cuts,Future Threat Remains

摘要

A break in the recent heat wave and the start of the August holiday season,when many businesses close or reduce operations,has for now spared Europe the power blackouts that have afflicted some US end-users in recent weeks (WGI Jul.26,p7).But a combination of increased summer peak demand for air conditioning and reduced availability of hydro,nuclear and wind capacity amid hot,dry and still weather meant that grid operators in several parts of Europe only narrowly avoided a crisis.And the region may not get off so lightly next time,particularly if climate change scientists are correct in predicting that heat waves will become more common and severe in the future (WGI Jun.l5'05,p7).